The Patriots will look to extend their winning streak to nine games when they face the Bengals on Sunday afternoon.

New England is coming off a 27-14 win over the Jets, pushing the Patriots’ overall record to 9-2 and divisional mark to 3-0. The Pats are trying to keep pace with the Broncos and Colts at the top of the AFC standings, and a victory against the Bengals would keep them in play for the No. 1 overall seed.

MORE: Drake Maye Campaigns For Patriots’ Stefon Diggs To Win Award

Defeating Cincinnati will be no easy task, especially if quarterback...

The New England Patriots will be back in Cincinnati this week, trying to repeat last year’s upset win over the Bengals. The biggest difference this time around is that the club is anything but an underdog: at 9-2, they have enjoyed a significantly better season than their 3-7 opponent.

So, what has been going on with the Bengals? To find out more about the Patriots’ Week 12 opponent, we spoke with Anthony Cosenza of Pats Pulpit’s sister site Cincy Jungle, the SB Nation community for all things Bengals.

Here is what he told us about the upcoming game and opponent....

In his first year as the New England Patriots‘ head coach, Mike Vrabel has completely transformed the team. After winning just four games last season, Vrabel has come in and immediately turned things around, as the team is riding an ongoing eight-game win streak that has pushed their record to 9-2.

One of the main goals Vrabel set for himself in year No. 1 with New England was to change the culture within the building at 1 Patriot Place. Vrabel wanted the Pats to play the sort of hard-nosed style of football they used to play during their dynastic run...

The New England Patriots will be taking on the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 12, and when they do, they won’t have star defensive tackle Milton Williams at their disposal. As a result, the team turned to the practice squad for reinforcements before this game.

Early in the team’s Week 11 win over the New York Jets, Williams suffered an ankle injury that forced him out of the game. Reports indicated Williams suffered a high ankle sprain, which usually takes four to six weeks to recover from, leading the team to place Williams on injured reserve.

The good news is that...

The New England Patriots packed an extra layer for the trip to Paycor Stadium.

The organization elevated defensive tackle Jeremiah Pharms Jr. from the practice squad ahead of Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Pharms, 29, made the initial 53-man roster before being waived on the eve of September’s season opener. After going unclaimed, he agreed to remain in Foxborough as part of the practice squad. The 6-foot-2, 300-pound defensive lineman has appeared in 28 games during his tenure. A handful of starts have arrived along the way.

Originally joining the Patriots prior to training camp in 2022, Pharms stands...

After multiple days of speculation, the Cincinnati Bengals have decided who they will start at quarterback against the New England Patriots on Sunday. According to various reports, Joe Flacco will draw the start while franchise QB Joe Burrow will not be activated off injured reserve.

Flacco, 40, has served as the Bengals’ starting QB for the last five weeks. Originally acquired via trade from the Cleveland Browns in October, he has since completed 135 of 213 pass attempts (63.4%) for 1,453 yards with 12 touchdowns and three interceptions. Despite posting some solid numbers, Cincinnati won just one of his starts...

New England Patriots rookie wide receiver Kyle Williams finally broke out in the team’s Week 10 upset vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, hauling in a 72-yard touchdown pass from Drake Maye.

The third-round pick followed the effort up with arguably the worst game of his first season in Week 11 vs. the New York Jets, however, failing to catch any of his career-high three targets.

Patriots reporter Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald revealed “53 thoughts on the Patriots’ 53 active players” on Saturday morning, saying that he wouldn’t be surprised if Williams is inactive for the first time this...

Cincinnati Bengals fans will reportedly have to wait at least one more game to welcome back star quarterback Joe Burrow.

“Joe Burrow (toe) will not play against the Patriots,” senior NFL insider Dianna Russini of The Athletic posted on Bluesky Saturday morning. “League sources say that the Bengals made the decision Friday to roll with Joe Flacco for another week, with the hope that Burrow will return to the lineup Thanksgiving night against the Ravens.”

“Bengals QB Joe Burrow, attempting to come back just over two months after surgery to repair Grade 3 turf toe, won’t be moved to the...

The Cleveland Browns will be running out their third starting quarterback of the season on Sunday when they start Shedeur Sanders against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Sanders took the field at the beginning of the second half during Cleveland’s Week 11 game, which ended in a 23-16 defeat to the Baltimore Ravens. He replaced Dillon Gabriel as the starting quarterback after a concussion sidelined Gabriel.

Sanders didn’t have a strong performance, completing four of 16 passes for 47 yards, and didn’t lead the Browns to any points in the second half.

However, Sanders now has a full week of practice...

New England Patriots former quarterback Mac Jones is having a good season as the backup quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers.

Jones has started eight games this season, with starting quarterback Brock Purdy dealing with a toe injury, and has thrown for 2,251 yards, eight touchdowns and six interceptions.

However, with Purdy returning last week and with Jones likely only going to see the field again due to a Purdy injury, his days in the Bay Area could be coming to an end soon.

San Francisco 49ers On SI writer Grant Cohn named possible teams Jones could be traded to...

The New England Patriots picked up another game in the AFC race Thursday night as the Buffalo Bills were stunned on the road in a 23-19 loss to the Houston Texans.

The Bills dropped to 7-4 on the season. More alarming than the Bills dropping two of the last three is the postseason position they are putting themselves in.

Highmark Stadium in Buffalo is a notoriously hard place to play. But with four losses and the Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles, and a rematch with the Patriots remaining on Buffalo’s schedule, the Bills are not in an advantageous position to host...

Heading into Week 12, the New England Patriots are in a pretty good position from a health perspective. The only two major injuries they are dealing with currently involve defensive tackle Milton Williams and running back Antonio Gibson, with the latter being out for the season.

In Gibson’s absence, the Pats have been piecing together their running back depth, especially with Rhamondre Stevenson missing the past three games due to a toe injury. Before the trade deadline rolled around, one potential trade target for New England was Houston Texans running back Dameon Pierce.

At one point, Pierce was the Texans’...